Rosberg pips Hamilton to pole

Behind the dominant Mercedes there was a surprise, as reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel failed to make it into the top 10 shoot-out, compounding a miserable day for the Red Bull driver after he span off during practice earlier on.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo took third 0.866 seconds behind Hamilton, but will be demoted 10 places to 13th as a result of a penalty for an unsafe release from a pit stop in last Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.